Tanya Plibersek

Infobox MP


name = Tanya Plibersek
honorific-suffix = MP
caption =
constituency_MP = Sydney
parliament = Australian
term_start = October 1998
term_end =
predecessor = Peter Baldwin
successor = Incumbent
party = Australian Labor Party
office2 = Minister for Housing Minister for the Status of Women
term_start2 = 3 December 2007
term_end2 =
predecessor2 = Brian Howe (Housing 1991-96, position vacant 1996-2007) Julie Bishop (Women)
successor2 = Incumbent

birth_date = birth date and age|1969|12|2|df=yes
birth_place = flagicon|AUS Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
nationality = Australian

residence =
alma_mater = University of Technology, Sydney Macquarie University
occupation = Public servant
profession =
website =

The Hon. Tanya Joan Plibersek, MP ( _sl. Tanja Pliberšek) (born 2 December, 1969), Australian politician with the Australian Labor Party, and Federal Housing Minister. She has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the seat of Sydney, New South Wales.cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2183677.htm |title=Unleashed: Tanya Plibersek |accessdate=2008-06-13 |date=2008-03-10 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation ]

Tanya Plibersek was born in Sydney, the daughter of migrants from Slovenia, and was educated at the University of Technology, Sydney and Macquarie University, where she gained a master's degree in politics and public policy. She was Women's Officer at the University of Technology, Sydney and worked for the Domestic Violence Unit at the NSW Government's Office for the Status and Advancement of Women before entering Parliament. She lives in Sydney with her husband Michael Coutts-Trotter, the director-general of the NSW Education Department [cite news | first=Dylan | last=Welch | coauthors= Anna Patty | title=Give Me a Chance: School's Chief | date=11 April 2007 | publisher= | url =http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/give-me-a-chance-schools-chief/2007/04/11/1175971135891.html?s_cid=rss_smh | work =The Sydney Morning Herald | pages =6 | accessdate = 2007-04-11 | language = ] , and children Anna and Joseph.

Political career

Plibersek was elected to the Shadow Ministry after the 2004 election. She was Shadow Minister for Work, Family and Community, Shadow Minister for Youth and Early Childhood Education and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on the Status of Women since October 2004. This portfolio was retitled Shadow Minister for Child Care, Youth and Women in June 2005. Following the Shadow Ministerial reshuffle in December 2006 (when Kevin Rudd assumed the leadership of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party) Plibersek was promoted to be Shadow Minister for Human Services, Housing, Youth and Women. Plibersek writes a fortnightly column for the "Sydney Morning Herald".

In the 2007 Federal election, Plibersek was re-elected to the seat of Sydney with a 2.12% swing toward the Labor Partycite web | url=http://results.aec.gov.au/13745/website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-13745-149.htm | title=Australian Electoral Commission summary of Sydney, Federal Election 2007. | publisher="Australian Electoral Commission" | date=2007-12-19 | accessdate=2007-12-19] . On 3 December 2007, Plibersek was appointed Minister for Housing and Minister for the Status of Women.

Controversy

In 2002, Tanya Plibersek angered the Jewish community with her comments about Israel and Ariel Sharon. Plibersek said,quote|I can think of a rogue state which consistently ignores UN resolutions whose ruler is a war criminal - it is called Israel and the war criminal is Ariel Sharon.cite web
url = http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/relrpt/stories/s1243272.htm
title = Kevin Rudd on the ALP and Israel
publisher = ABC
date = 2004-11-03
accessdate = 2007-08-05 ] She later apologised for the remark.

The Labor Party was criticised by some LGBT groupscite web
url = http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/releases/20070427.htm
title = Labor's Same-Sex Registration Policy Entrenches Discrimination
publisher = Australian Marriage Equality (National lobby group)
date = 2007-04-27
accessdate = 2007-08-05 ] cite web
url = http://www.greenleft.org.au/2004/592/32048
title = Rally protests same-sex marriage ban
publisher = Green Left Weekly
date = 2004-08-04
accessdate = 2007-08-05 ] over the party's bipartisan policy against the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Plibersek told "The Sydney Morning Herald":quote|Labor does not support changing the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriage."cite web
url = http://www.ag.gov.au/agd/WWW/MinisterRuddockHome.nsf/Page/Letters_to_the_Editor_21_March_2007_-_Sydney_Morning_Herald_-_
title = Philip Ruddock MP
publisher = Attorney-General's Department
date = 2004-03-21
accessdate = 2007-08-05 ] cite web
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/the-discrimination-that-makes-a-lie-of-equality/2007/03/20/1174153063800.html?page=2
title = The discrimination that makes a lie of equality
publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald
date = 2007-03-21
accessdate = 2007-08-05 ] On July 25 2004, Plibersek was loudly heckled at an anti-homophobia rally due to the issue.

During a July 2007 interview on "Meet The Press", when answering a question relating to the detention of Mohamed Haneef, Plibersek said the Labor Party "supported the (Howard) Government's actions."cite web
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/rudd-wont-escape-haneef-fallout/2007/07/23/1185043032480.html
title = Rudd won't escape Haneef fallout
publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald
date = 2007-07-24
accessdate = 2007-08-08 ] cite web
url = http://ten.com.au/ten/tv_meetthepress.html
title = Meet The Press
publisher = Network Ten
date = 2007-07-22
accessdate = 2007-08-08 ]

References

External links

* [http://tanyaplibersek.com/ Personal website]

Persondata
NAME=Plibersek, Tanya Joan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH=2 December, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
DATE OF DEATH=Living
PLACE OF DEATH=